I'm leaving today. Well not quite today but I found out this week that I got picked in the New York City 1/2 marathon lottery earlier this week. So I will be heading up to New York City late March for another half marathon.
The NYC 1/2 marathon course runs around Central Park for the first 8 miles or so of the race before heading south down Broadway to finish in lower Manhattan. I'm looking forward to enjoying the Central Park miles next March compared to my last run in Central Park. For the 2006 NYC Marathon, the last few miles were run around and near Central Park; by that point in the race, I just wanted it to be done and suffered through those miles for the most part.
It's interesting that NYRR has the same trainwreck on its hands regarding the 1/2 lottery that Houston had earlier this year. I suppose the fact that races need to institute lotteries is an encouraging sign regarding the fitness/activity level of people. It is just unfortunate that not everyone can get in and run all of these events. The good thing is that there are several options available out there.
Today marks the 6 weeks of no running point due to my torn right calf muscle. I saw my doctor today and will start doing exercises to rehab my calf this week. If all goes as planned, I should be able to start running again in 2 weeks. That's a good thing because counting the NYC lottery that I got into, I've added four races to my 2011 spring/summer calendar in this 6 week no running period.
I signed up for the 3rd consecutive year for the Conoco Philips Rodeo Run 10k here in Houston in late February. I decided to add another Conoco Philips sponsored event to my calendar as well. This one's a little farther away than Houston as I'm going to head up to Anchorage in June to run the Mayor's 1/2 marathon. I also signed up for the Lincoln 1/2 marathon in early May. That event will be the 2nd leg of my back to back 1/2 weekend for 2011. The first 1/2 will be the Drake Relays 1/2 April 30th; just waiting for registration to open for that event.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Blogging Paying Off
2 days shy of the mid point of my 6 week no running let the right calf muscle heal itself sentence and I'm looking forward to being able to run again before 2010 comes to an end. So far I've resisted the temptation to sign up for every spring 2011 event in site as I am often guilty of doing when not able to run.
Call it a senior moment but I am glad that I was able to look back to my blog a year ago to determine that the left calf muscle that I pulled a year ago this week was just that and not the right. Reading the post, I was reminded that I'd woken up with a cramp on the same muscle earlier in the week. That's good news as hopefully this 2nd tear of my right calf won't be a recurring issue.
Looking at my Buckeye Outdoors log, I was able to determine that I probably initially strained my right calf a little over 10 weeks ago on an 8 mile run in the hills at Huntsville State Park. It was my first run after the Disneyland 1/2 and I felt great so I really pushed myself on the hills. 2 days later around 2 miles into another hill run, this time on Flintridge, is when I first felt the strain. I took it easy the rest of that run but never seemed to recover from that initial strain. Compression socks got me through 10 for Texas and the Jazz Half before the right calf finally tore not quite 2 miles into an easy paced mostly flat surface run.
Speaking of compression socks, they have been an important part of my 2010 running season, not to mention quite the fashion statement. Prior to wearing them in my last 2 fall races, I wore them earlier in the year when my calves were feeling tight. I've been wearing them on just my right leg for the past week and they seem to really help with my calf muscle. Hopefully its helping the healing process as well.
Call it a senior moment but I am glad that I was able to look back to my blog a year ago to determine that the left calf muscle that I pulled a year ago this week was just that and not the right. Reading the post, I was reminded that I'd woken up with a cramp on the same muscle earlier in the week. That's good news as hopefully this 2nd tear of my right calf won't be a recurring issue.
Looking at my Buckeye Outdoors log, I was able to determine that I probably initially strained my right calf a little over 10 weeks ago on an 8 mile run in the hills at Huntsville State Park. It was my first run after the Disneyland 1/2 and I felt great so I really pushed myself on the hills. 2 days later around 2 miles into another hill run, this time on Flintridge, is when I first felt the strain. I took it easy the rest of that run but never seemed to recover from that initial strain. Compression socks got me through 10 for Texas and the Jazz Half before the right calf finally tore not quite 2 miles into an easy paced mostly flat surface run.
Speaking of compression socks, they have been an important part of my 2010 running season, not to mention quite the fashion statement. Prior to wearing them in my last 2 fall races, I wore them earlier in the year when my calves were feeling tight. I've been wearing them on just my right leg for the past week and they seem to really help with my calf muscle. Hopefully its helping the healing process as well.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Just Think What Might Happen if I Actually Played Tennis
So I just did a little internet research (gotta love the internet) and discovered that the common name for my injury is "tennis leg" as it apparantly is a common injury in tennis players. Last year I was diagnosed with tennis elbow after riding mountain bikes on Huntsville State Park trails. Now that I think about it, maybe avoiding HSP may be the solution to all my tennis related injuries as "tennis leg" is also associated with hill running.
I received my MRI results today; it shows a tear on the medial head of the gastroc muscle which is the inside middle part of the lower leg aka my right calf muscle. I've been told no running for 6 weeks and I'll probably have to wear a boot as walking has been painful the past week.
I received my MRI results today; it shows a tear on the medial head of the gastroc muscle which is the inside middle part of the lower leg aka my right calf muscle. I've been told no running for 6 weeks and I'll probably have to wear a boot as walking has been painful the past week.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
May have lost this battle, live to fight another day.
Country music is awesome for inspiratonal quotes.
Still waiting to get the results of my MRI yesterday morning. I've pretty much, 99.99%, decided that I'll spectate Sunday's Rock n Roll San Antonio marathon and 1/2. Walking is still painful so results or no results this weekend is pretty much a no-go.
I've already started reviewing my mileage for 2010 since I'm not running these days. Based on a Higdon 12 week intermediate half marathon training plan, I've determined I wasn't "race ready" for any of my 2010 half marathons. As expected, the most closest to "race ready" was for the Disneyland 1/2. I'll post the numbers in future posts.
Still waiting to get the results of my MRI yesterday morning. I've pretty much, 99.99%, decided that I'll spectate Sunday's Rock n Roll San Antonio marathon and 1/2. Walking is still painful so results or no results this weekend is pretty much a no-go.
I've already started reviewing my mileage for 2010 since I'm not running these days. Based on a Higdon 12 week intermediate half marathon training plan, I've determined I wasn't "race ready" for any of my 2010 half marathons. As expected, the most closest to "race ready" was for the Disneyland 1/2. I'll post the numbers in future posts.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
MRI is scheduled for tomorrow morning
After nursing my right calf since right after Labor Day weekend, I think I may have finally torn it. I was less than 2 miles into an easy run at a pace right under 10 minutes when I felt a sharp pain in my calf. I ended up hopping 4 or 5 steps before finally putting some pressure on my right side. Walking was really slow and not comfortable. Thankfully, I was able to ride a bike 2 miles back to Ricos. This is the same calf that I tore back in 1998.
With RnR San Antonio looming this Sunday, looks like I'm going to have my first ever 1/2 marathon DNS after 53 successful attempts. I've only had 2 previous DNS, both at the 5k distance, the latest coming at the beginning of this year.
With RnR San Antonio looming this Sunday, looks like I'm going to have my first ever 1/2 marathon DNS after 53 successful attempts. I've only had 2 previous DNS, both at the 5k distance, the latest coming at the beginning of this year.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Jazz Half Marathon
Since moving to The Woodlands from the New Orleans area post Katrina, I always look forward to returning to the city that I called home for some 15 years. The year following Katrina, I returned to NOLA for the 2006 Crescent City Classic 10k. I returned in 2007 for the Mardi Gras 1/2 marathon (before it became a competitor Rock n Roll event). In 2008 I ran the Jackson Day 9k race the weekend of the BCS Championship game where LSU beat Ohio State to win its 3rd National Championship.
I didn't make it for any 2009 races; for 2010, I signed up for the 2nd edition of the Jazz Half, a stand alone local 1/2 event. There were around 2,000 runners; hopefully this race will continue to grow. I came into this race not race ready but confiident that I could complete the 13.1 mile distance. A trigger point in my right calf kept me from running regularly for 2 months leading up to the race. Like 10 for Texas 3 weeks earlier, I was good for the first 7 miles and then my conditioning/lack of kicked in. I finished with a 2:02 - an injury PR run, a NOLA run PW.
My son ran this race as well. I was able to see him for the first tenth of a mile or so as he ran a 1:44 PR. The post race party was typical NOLA. Beer truck, red beans and rice and/or jambayla, hot dogs, Blue Bell ice cream were all there as well as a couple of bands. My first events away from NOLA had me confused as my running started in NOLA and this type of post race party spread is typical for all races, 5k's on up to marathons.
Hopefully I can run a future version of this event when I'm race ready.
I didn't make it for any 2009 races; for 2010, I signed up for the 2nd edition of the Jazz Half, a stand alone local 1/2 event. There were around 2,000 runners; hopefully this race will continue to grow. I came into this race not race ready but confiident that I could complete the 13.1 mile distance. A trigger point in my right calf kept me from running regularly for 2 months leading up to the race. Like 10 for Texas 3 weeks earlier, I was good for the first 7 miles and then my conditioning/lack of kicked in. I finished with a 2:02 - an injury PR run, a NOLA run PW.
My son ran this race as well. I was able to see him for the first tenth of a mile or so as he ran a 1:44 PR. The post race party was typical NOLA. Beer truck, red beans and rice and/or jambayla, hot dogs, Blue Bell ice cream were all there as well as a couple of bands. My first events away from NOLA had me confused as my running started in NOLA and this type of post race party spread is typical for all races, 5k's on up to marathons.
Hopefully I can run a future version of this event when I'm race ready.
 |
| Another 2010 finish in compression socks. |
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Ten for Texas
5 weeks after running the Disneyland 1/2 marathon, I ran Ten for Texas with a knot in my right calf muscle. I would have it diagnosed as a trigger point the week following the race. I put on Sore No More and compression socks to help support the calf during the ten mile run. My mileage in the 5 weeks leading up to the event was really low; I was resting my legs thinking that with rest my calf would heal itself.
My average pace per mile for the 10 miles dropped off after mile 7:
1 8:01
2 8:01
3 7:54
4 7:47
5 7:41
6 7:52
7 7:44
8 8:29
9 8:30
10 8:31
I used average pace as the actual mile markers were way off for the race.
My average pace per mile for the 10 miles dropped off after mile 7:
1 8:01
2 8:01
3 7:54
4 7:47
5 7:41
6 7:52
7 7:44
8 8:29
9 8:30
10 8:31
I used average pace as the actual mile markers were way off for the race.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Ready to Wrap up my Fall Racing
What started as a promising fall racing season with a Labor Day half marathon quickly stalled back into low mileage weeks. I took the week off after Disneyland due to a stomach bug. Halfway through my second run the following week I got a knot in my right calf. 4 weeks and 2 deep tissue massages later and knot still there, I saw my chiropractor and was diagnosed with a trigger point. I had an acupuncture treatment on the calf that immediately relieved the knot. 2 miles into a run the next day the knot was back. I had my 2nd acupuncture treatment earlier this week and haven't run yet. So far the knot isn't back but I'm kinda afraid to run on it.
I only have 2 remaining races left on my schedule. If I were elite, I'd pull a Ryan Hall and scratch the races. I will run both remaining 1/2's (well run and walk I'm sure given my present fitness status) and then have 3 months before my next race.
Here's hoping for a better 2011.
I only have 2 remaining races left on my schedule. If I were elite, I'd pull a Ryan Hall and scratch the races. I will run both remaining 1/2's (well run and walk I'm sure given my present fitness status) and then have 3 months before my next race.
Here's hoping for a better 2011.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Disneyland Half Marathon
The trip to Anaheim for the Disneyland Half Marathon marked my return to California for the first time in a little over 5 years. The 2005 trip was to San Francisco to run the half in nice cool July weather. Who knew that Disney was keeping track of that and designed the medal to mark my return to Cali..... Oh yeah, they were also celebrating the 5th anniversary of the race as well.
The race also marked my return to the 1:4x:xx race times. My 1:46 and change finish made 1:46 the most popular finish time for my 52 half marathons that I've run to date. 5 of those (more 5's....wow) 1:46 finish times put it ahead of all my other finishes. My per mile pace remained within a 7:44 to 8:27 range. I started out somewhat conservative and kept increasing my average pace up until about the 10 mile mark. After that point, I just held on for the last 5k to the finish. One thing I noted was that I had no "blow up" miles; my early 1/2 marathons always had a mile at some point in the middle where I had a 10 minute or so mile. I definetely have become more consistent with my pacing.
I wrapped up my first Disney Coast to Coast Challenge with this race. I ran the Goofy Challenge in Orlando in January for the first leg of the C2C. I think this will be a first and done C2C. I think Disney is realizing (by dismal registration numbers) that they are pricing themselves out of the market. At this point, an international event (Disneyland Paris, Tokyo, or Hong Kong) would be required to get my attention.
The finish line being set up Friday afternoon.
Running through Angel Stadium was a nice change in the last half of the race.
Part of The Woodlands Coast 2 Coast finishers
Thursday, August 26, 2010
2011 Race Calendar Starting to Shape Up
With the fall 2010 racing season set to begin, my 2011 race schedule is in full swing as well. Other than being held hostage by the NYC 1/2 marathon lottery (I didn't realize the lottery remained open until mid November) the first 6 months of 2011 are pretty much booked. Of course, I haven't registered for some of these races as registration hasn't opened yet for the smaller events and others have beat the clock price increases that haven't yet occurred.
Here's the remainder of my 2010 and a tentative 2011 schedule to date:
September 5th - Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. This trip to Anaheim will complete my 2010 Coast to Coast Challenge. Having completed the Goofy Challenge in Orlando in January, I will get my Disney bling fix en masse: 5 medals for 3 races.
October 9th - Ten for Texas. Yes, I can stay home for Columbus Day weekend for a change. And yes, 10 miles will be fewer miles than the 26.2 I've racked up over the prior 2 CD weekends (Chicago Marathon in 2008 and Hartford/Boston 1/2's in 2009).
October 30th - Jazz Half. I've got a Friday night flight into New Orleans and a Saturday afternoon flight out so it will be a quick visit with family and friends. It'll be interesting to see how many Halloween costumes show up for the 2nd annual half event.
November 14th - San Antonio Rock n Roll 1/2. I ran San Antonio the year before competitor took over the event. This will be my first RNR event in quite some time.
February 20th - Austin 1/2. I've run the Austin 1/2 once before. I had a less than memorable race experience as I was suffereing with achilles tendonitis coming into the race. The Austin hills did nothing to help the situation.
April 30th - Drake Relays 1/2. This will be the front end of my 2011 back to back 1/2 weekend.
May 1st - Lincoln 1/2. This will be the back end of my b2b 1/2 weekend. Omaha will most likely be my flight destination as it is located between Des Moines and Lincoln and also appears to have the cheapest flights of the 3 cities.
June 4th - 13.1 Chicago. This was a spur of the moment race registration earlier this week. A $30 fee and a course similiar to the Chicago Half Marathon made me jump.
That's the plan as of now. Races that may happen, depending on lottery luck and whether or not the event occurs again are:
March 20th - NYC 1/2. If this race doesn't happen, I may consider City-Pier-City 1/2 in the Hague, the Netherlands. This would be my first race not on US soil.
June 18th - Mayor's 1/2. An Alaskan repeat with a first time visit to Anchorage and a week long post race tour include Kenai Fjord and Denali National Parks may or may not happen this year. I will most likely decide if this is a go by year end.
October - Disney Wine & Dine 1/2. If Disney brings this race back, I may sign up for it. Always up for a visit to Orlando; would take a couple of extra days to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at Universal.
Here's the remainder of my 2010 and a tentative 2011 schedule to date:
September 5th - Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. This trip to Anaheim will complete my 2010 Coast to Coast Challenge. Having completed the Goofy Challenge in Orlando in January, I will get my Disney bling fix en masse: 5 medals for 3 races.
October 9th - Ten for Texas. Yes, I can stay home for Columbus Day weekend for a change. And yes, 10 miles will be fewer miles than the 26.2 I've racked up over the prior 2 CD weekends (Chicago Marathon in 2008 and Hartford/Boston 1/2's in 2009).
October 30th - Jazz Half. I've got a Friday night flight into New Orleans and a Saturday afternoon flight out so it will be a quick visit with family and friends. It'll be interesting to see how many Halloween costumes show up for the 2nd annual half event.
November 14th - San Antonio Rock n Roll 1/2. I ran San Antonio the year before competitor took over the event. This will be my first RNR event in quite some time.
February 20th - Austin 1/2. I've run the Austin 1/2 once before. I had a less than memorable race experience as I was suffereing with achilles tendonitis coming into the race. The Austin hills did nothing to help the situation.
April 30th - Drake Relays 1/2. This will be the front end of my 2011 back to back 1/2 weekend.
May 1st - Lincoln 1/2. This will be the back end of my b2b 1/2 weekend. Omaha will most likely be my flight destination as it is located between Des Moines and Lincoln and also appears to have the cheapest flights of the 3 cities.
June 4th - 13.1 Chicago. This was a spur of the moment race registration earlier this week. A $30 fee and a course similiar to the Chicago Half Marathon made me jump.
That's the plan as of now. Races that may happen, depending on lottery luck and whether or not the event occurs again are:
March 20th - NYC 1/2. If this race doesn't happen, I may consider City-Pier-City 1/2 in the Hague, the Netherlands. This would be my first race not on US soil.
June 18th - Mayor's 1/2. An Alaskan repeat with a first time visit to Anchorage and a week long post race tour include Kenai Fjord and Denali National Parks may or may not happen this year. I will most likely decide if this is a go by year end.
October - Disney Wine & Dine 1/2. If Disney brings this race back, I may sign up for it. Always up for a visit to Orlando; would take a couple of extra days to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at Universal.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
13.1 Race Series
I signed up for my first 13.1 race series event this morning. Even with active.com taking their pound of flesh, I charged less than $40 to my credit card with the special discount for the first 100 signees. I'll be running the 13.1 Chicago Marathon on Saturday, June 4th next year. The course is mostly an out and back on Lake Shore Drive prety mostly the same route used by the older and bigger Chicago Half Marathon held in September.
I've heard less than stellar comments regarding the 13.1 Race Series events; hopefully, this 3rd edition in Chicago will have all the kinks worked out. At any rate, it sounds like a great excuse for eating more deep dish pizza!
I've heard less than stellar comments regarding the 13.1 Race Series events; hopefully, this 3rd edition in Chicago will have all the kinks worked out. At any rate, it sounds like a great excuse for eating more deep dish pizza!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Saturday Night's Alright for Running
I missed my early morning 5 miler so I had an early evening 5 miler instead. Less than a mile into the run, I had already had 2 flying insects fly into my mouth. Oh my! Good thing I was able to spit them out because I'd hate to have to swallow a spider to catch the fly.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Getting Caught in the Rain
I drove over to the Saints Simon and Jude overflow parking lot to run the Nature Trail last night. I watched the 6 o'clock local weather before heading out the door and I swear I heard Gene Norman say that the storms north of us had no chance of making it down to us but seeing them was encouraging in that we'd have a good chance for rain tomorrow.
The weather didn't seem as hot when I headed out around 7:00. About 3 miles into my 7 mile loop, it started to thunder and lightening pretty bad. At that point, the only option I had was to just continue. With 2 miles to go, the sky opened up and cats and dogs fell to the ground. I was already soaked before the rain started so it actually felt refreshing. I only wished I had a hat to keep the rain out of my eyes.
Not long after the rain started I got the Pina Colada song stuck in my head; it is still with me this morning. Ugh.
The weather didn't seem as hot when I headed out around 7:00. About 3 miles into my 7 mile loop, it started to thunder and lightening pretty bad. At that point, the only option I had was to just continue. With 2 miles to go, the sky opened up and cats and dogs fell to the ground. I was already soaked before the rain started so it actually felt refreshing. I only wished I had a hat to keep the rain out of my eyes.
Not long after the rain started I got the Pina Colada song stuck in my head; it is still with me this morning. Ugh.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Enough with the Heat
After having a good week of running (and thinking that I was actually adjusting to running in hot, humid weather), I had a run last night that had me questioning why I would ever want to run ever again. I heard in this morning's weather forecast that this August is shaping up to be the hottest August ever on record here in the Houston area.
Late yesterday afternoon, there were a few pop up showers here in The Woodlands. They weren't big enough showers to really drop the temps any but just made it one big outdoor sauna. I had a 5 mile run on the schedule so I headed to run the hills of Flintridge. There was no movement in the air at all; in some places on the concrete pathways, you could just feel heat radiating all around you. It was so hot, my garmin threw in the towel at the 4 mile mark and just toggled repeatedly between the 3 display screens. It looked like it was still capturing data from the run but I couldn't make it stop toggling. At the end of the run, the On/Off button didn't shut it off. I used the mode/reset button combination to successfully turn it off. When I downloaded the data, all that showed up was the first 4 miles of the run.
With the heat advisory still in effect, I will be running the mileage on my training plan but just taking it alot slower. Still hoping for that cool California weather in 2 1/2 weeks!
Late yesterday afternoon, there were a few pop up showers here in The Woodlands. They weren't big enough showers to really drop the temps any but just made it one big outdoor sauna. I had a 5 mile run on the schedule so I headed to run the hills of Flintridge. There was no movement in the air at all; in some places on the concrete pathways, you could just feel heat radiating all around you. It was so hot, my garmin threw in the towel at the 4 mile mark and just toggled repeatedly between the 3 display screens. It looked like it was still capturing data from the run but I couldn't make it stop toggling. At the end of the run, the On/Off button didn't shut it off. I used the mode/reset button combination to successfully turn it off. When I downloaded the data, all that showed up was the first 4 miles of the run.
With the heat advisory still in effect, I will be running the mileage on my training plan but just taking it alot slower. Still hoping for that cool California weather in 2 1/2 weeks!
Friday, August 13, 2010
No Excuses Copycat Edition
Well the good news is that there's lots more running than blogging going on these days. The last half of July was spent with more skipped long run weekend due to falling off a ladder and visiting my mom. I know, there are no roads in Ville Platte so it was not possible for me to get a run in while visiting. The ladder fall was the more legit of the 2 excuses; I actually banged my right shin on the ladder itself so had some swelling there to deal with.
Reading K's July 31 post over at Running Towards Him, I got motivated for the first time this year. I know its still early to call it a trend, but I have logged almost 50 miles this month. I was actually feeling good on my 7 mile Nature Trail loop run this past Wednesday evening.
With the dog days of summer upon us, my dog has found a way to keep cool.
My lawn isn't getting much coverage with him blocking the water the entire sprinkler cycle time. That's ok.... as long as he keeps cool. He had a touch of heat illness the week before. He didn't want to eat or go for a walk for the first time ever.....a few days inside and major spoilage and he's back to normal.
Reading K's July 31 post over at Running Towards Him, I got motivated for the first time this year. I know its still early to call it a trend, but I have logged almost 50 miles this month. I was actually feeling good on my 7 mile Nature Trail loop run this past Wednesday evening.
With the dog days of summer upon us, my dog has found a way to keep cool.
My lawn isn't getting much coverage with him blocking the water the entire sprinkler cycle time. That's ok.... as long as he keeps cool. He had a touch of heat illness the week before. He didn't want to eat or go for a walk for the first time ever.....a few days inside and major spoilage and he's back to normal.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Missoula Half Marathon
This is the 3rd consecutive year that I've worked a week plus long vacation into a state running trip. 2008 was the Great Alaskan Maritime Marathon cruise and 2009 was a 3 Hawaiian island adventure. My 2010 trip was a tour of 3 National Parks with the Missoula 1/2 Marathon tucked in between.
Yellowstone National Park
After a mile hike of boardwalk and asphalt trails, I headed to the Canyon Village area to check into my base camp for the next 2 nights at Cascade Lodge:
After checking in and grabbing a bite to eat, I proceeded to drive to the North Rim trails of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The first trail I took was the short but 600 foot drop via switchbacks trail to the brink of the Lower Falls. I took a pic of the trail the next morning while hiking the South Rim trails.
I then took in views of the Lower Falls from another steep drop in the Red Rock Point trail, followed by Lookout Point and Grand View overlooks.
Wednesday was my biggest hiking day; I logged around 20 miles hiking. I also learned my first lesson of the trip: cotton socks don't mix with hiking. I ended up with blisters at the end of the day. Luckily, they didn't bother my 1/2 marathon run a few days later. I did an 8 mile hike that started at the Wapiti trailhead, going through Hayden Valley, Clear Lake, Lily Pad Lake and then joining the South Rim trails looping back to the car. There were a ton of interesting geothermal features between Clear and Lily Lakes. The sound of this one was pretty incredible.
After heading back to Cascade Lodge for a quick break, I drove to Dunraven Pass and hiked 6 miles roundtrip to the top of Mt. Washburn. The views at the 10243 summit were pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the camera stayed in the car. I did have my cellphone camera to get a couple of shots. I then headed to the Lake Area of the Grand Loop where I hiked the Elephant Back and Storm Point Loop trails. Elephant Back climbed 800 feet to yield an incredible view of Yellowstone Lake and the Lake Hotel. That got me to 20 miles and blisters on both feet.
Grand Teton National Park
One of the reasons I hiked 20 miles the day before was to try and buy time to be able to head to the sister park of Yellowstone just south of it. As I checked out of Canyon Village that morning, I figured it would be a good day to head to GTNP to get in 6 miles or so hiking. I didn't want to go much farther due to the blister issues. I used Body Glide prior to putting on, yes, cotton socks again. After driving around in the park for a bit, I wound up at the Jenny Lake area and ended up hiking to the split of Cascade Canyon. I pretty much failed in my 6 mile max attempt as the round trip hike was right around 13 miles. Still, it was totally worth the extra miles to take in the great views of the mountains and waterfalls along the way.
After the hike, I headed back to Yellowstone to check in at the Old Faithful Inn for the next 2 nights of my trip. Friday morning I went on a ranger led hike to Fairy Falls in the Old Faithful area of the Grand Loop. I enjoyed the slower pace of the ranger led hike as well as the interpretive aspects provided by the ranger. The hike included a couple of geyers as well as a view of Grand Prismatic Spring. Following lunch, I hiked the Observation Point loop to see Old Faithful erupt away from the crowds. A quick trip to Artist Paint Pots in the Norris area wrapped up Friday and my Yellowstone hiking.
Artist Paint Pots
The Race
2010 continues to be the year of underwhelming races, uninspired training, and just a general running funk. The good news is that I completed running a 1/2 marathon in my 43rd state last Sunday at the "Runner's World Readers' Overall Top Ranked Marathon". I can't remember exactly how many times I heard or saw that phrase printed over the weekend but believe me it was milked for all it was worth. I really just had to scratch my head over that one and ask WHY? I don't think I'd rank the race in my top 10 1/2 marathon events that I've attended much less rank it anywhere near New York, Chicago, or heck, even Houston marathons. I don't know if the questions that led to the rankings were biased or what, but while not a bad event, this just wasn't anything to write home about.
One other factoid that was repeated several times by the 1/2 prerace announcer was the fact that Texas had the 5th most participants in the event. Considering how far Texas is from Montana, that is a pretty impressive stat for the Lone Star state.
I ended up getting my time back under 2 hours after 3 straight finishes over 2 hours. I was pleased considering I hadn't run a weekend long run since my Medicine Bow 1/2 marathon at the end of May.
Glacier National Park
Post race, I made the 2 plus hour drive from Missoula to Glacier National Park. I don't know if Glacier was so crowded because it is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, but the park just felt incredibly packed. I wasn't able to find a parking spot at the first 2 places I tried visiting when I first got into the park.
My plan for Glacier was to stay near the Lake McDonald area Sunday afternoon then drive to Logan Pass and beyond Monday for a longer hike. Not finding parking spots near Lake McD brought me up to Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road Sunday afternoon. Ever since driving the Road to Hana in Maui last year, I compare great drives to it. Going to the Sun Road is Montana's version of the Road to Hana. Driving along the mountainside afforded incredible views. I got up to Logan Pass, found a parking spot and attempting to hike a couple of trails in the area. Logan Pass was very crowded Sunday afternoon. The trails were over 90% snow covered so I didn't hike very much up there. I wasn't prepared to hike in snow so I just got a feel for the area and then decided to head back to Lake McDonald to check in at the Lodge there.
As I drove to Logan Pass Sunday afternoon, I opted for a ranger led tour of Avalanche Lake in the Lake McDonald area Monday morning. Again, the ranger provided insight and led an enjoyable tour to the lake.
Tuesday was a travel day with me leaving Glacier at 6:00 am for a 5 plus hour drive to Bozeman. I then connected through Denver getting back to IAH in Houston after 10:30. All in all, a great trip to log by 43rd state. I've got 3 repeat states on tap for the rest of the year. 2 more states scheduled for 2011 on my quest to run them all!
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone North Entrance Roosevelt Arch
I flew into Bozeman, Montana Tuesday morning and drove to Yellowstone's north entrance near Gardiner, MT. My first stop was Mammoth Hot Springs in the Northwest corner of the Grand Loop:
Travertine at Mammoth Terraces
After a mile hike of boardwalk and asphalt trails, I headed to the Canyon Village area to check into my base camp for the next 2 nights at Cascade Lodge:
After checking in and grabbing a bite to eat, I proceeded to drive to the North Rim trails of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The first trail I took was the short but 600 foot drop via switchbacks trail to the brink of the Lower Falls. I took a pic of the trail the next morning while hiking the South Rim trails.
Brink of Lower Falls Trail as seen from Uncle Toms Trail.
I then took in views of the Lower Falls from another steep drop in the Red Rock Point trail, followed by Lookout Point and Grand View overlooks.
View of Lower Falls from Red Rock Point
Wednesday was my biggest hiking day; I logged around 20 miles hiking. I also learned my first lesson of the trip: cotton socks don't mix with hiking. I ended up with blisters at the end of the day. Luckily, they didn't bother my 1/2 marathon run a few days later. I did an 8 mile hike that started at the Wapiti trailhead, going through Hayden Valley, Clear Lake, Lily Pad Lake and then joining the South Rim trails looping back to the car. There were a ton of interesting geothermal features between Clear and Lily Lakes. The sound of this one was pretty incredible.
After heading back to Cascade Lodge for a quick break, I drove to Dunraven Pass and hiked 6 miles roundtrip to the top of Mt. Washburn. The views at the 10243 summit were pretty amazing. Unfortunately, the camera stayed in the car. I did have my cellphone camera to get a couple of shots. I then headed to the Lake Area of the Grand Loop where I hiked the Elephant Back and Storm Point Loop trails. Elephant Back climbed 800 feet to yield an incredible view of Yellowstone Lake and the Lake Hotel. That got me to 20 miles and blisters on both feet.
Grand Teton National Park
One of the reasons I hiked 20 miles the day before was to try and buy time to be able to head to the sister park of Yellowstone just south of it. As I checked out of Canyon Village that morning, I figured it would be a good day to head to GTNP to get in 6 miles or so hiking. I didn't want to go much farther due to the blister issues. I used Body Glide prior to putting on, yes, cotton socks again. After driving around in the park for a bit, I wound up at the Jenny Lake area and ended up hiking to the split of Cascade Canyon. I pretty much failed in my 6 mile max attempt as the round trip hike was right around 13 miles. Still, it was totally worth the extra miles to take in the great views of the mountains and waterfalls along the way.
After the hike, I headed back to Yellowstone to check in at the Old Faithful Inn for the next 2 nights of my trip. Friday morning I went on a ranger led hike to Fairy Falls in the Old Faithful area of the Grand Loop. I enjoyed the slower pace of the ranger led hike as well as the interpretive aspects provided by the ranger. The hike included a couple of geyers as well as a view of Grand Prismatic Spring. Following lunch, I hiked the Observation Point loop to see Old Faithful erupt away from the crowds. A quick trip to Artist Paint Pots in the Norris area wrapped up Friday and my Yellowstone hiking.
Grand Prismatic Spring
Artist Paint Pots
The Race
2010 continues to be the year of underwhelming races, uninspired training, and just a general running funk. The good news is that I completed running a 1/2 marathon in my 43rd state last Sunday at the "Runner's World Readers' Overall Top Ranked Marathon". I can't remember exactly how many times I heard or saw that phrase printed over the weekend but believe me it was milked for all it was worth. I really just had to scratch my head over that one and ask WHY? I don't think I'd rank the race in my top 10 1/2 marathon events that I've attended much less rank it anywhere near New York, Chicago, or heck, even Houston marathons. I don't know if the questions that led to the rankings were biased or what, but while not a bad event, this just wasn't anything to write home about.
One other factoid that was repeated several times by the 1/2 prerace announcer was the fact that Texas had the 5th most participants in the event. Considering how far Texas is from Montana, that is a pretty impressive stat for the Lone Star state.
I ended up getting my time back under 2 hours after 3 straight finishes over 2 hours. I was pleased considering I hadn't run a weekend long run since my Medicine Bow 1/2 marathon at the end of May.
Glacier National Park
Post race, I made the 2 plus hour drive from Missoula to Glacier National Park. I don't know if Glacier was so crowded because it is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, but the park just felt incredibly packed. I wasn't able to find a parking spot at the first 2 places I tried visiting when I first got into the park.
My plan for Glacier was to stay near the Lake McDonald area Sunday afternoon then drive to Logan Pass and beyond Monday for a longer hike. Not finding parking spots near Lake McD brought me up to Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road Sunday afternoon. Ever since driving the Road to Hana in Maui last year, I compare great drives to it. Going to the Sun Road is Montana's version of the Road to Hana. Driving along the mountainside afforded incredible views. I got up to Logan Pass, found a parking spot and attempting to hike a couple of trails in the area. Logan Pass was very crowded Sunday afternoon. The trails were over 90% snow covered so I didn't hike very much up there. I wasn't prepared to hike in snow so I just got a feel for the area and then decided to head back to Lake McDonald to check in at the Lodge there.
Lake McDonald Lodge view lakeside
The Lodge was built in the early 1900s before Going to the Sun road was complete. The Lodge faced the Lake as boat transportation was the primary means of transportation at the time. With GTTS road completed, you now enter the lodge from the rear. As I drove to Logan Pass Sunday afternoon, I opted for a ranger led tour of Avalanche Lake in the Lake McDonald area Monday morning. Again, the ranger provided insight and led an enjoyable tour to the lake.
Tuesday was a travel day with me leaving Glacier at 6:00 am for a 5 plus hour drive to Bozeman. I then connected through Denver getting back to IAH in Houston after 10:30. All in all, a great trip to log by 43rd state. I've got 3 repeat states on tap for the rest of the year. 2 more states scheduled for 2011 on my quest to run them all!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
On the Sidelines Again
Less than 4 weeks til my next half marathon and I'm not running...... yet again. 2010 has not been so kind as far as running is concerned. My latest setback is a wicked head/chest cold. One minute Saturday afternoon I was fine and the next I was all stopped up. Got a sore throat that night and the cough started the next night. Trying to fight this off with over the counter decongestants. Hopefully I'll be back on the road in the next couple of days.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Houston We Have A Problem
Day 2 into the Chevron Houston Marathon/Aramco Half Marathon announcement that they are going to a lottery system for the 2011 race and the locals are still buzzing. I personally have very little history with the Houston race but it seems like every year they seem to come up with some bonehead decision to top the prior year's bonehead decision.
From where I stand, it seems like the race has a real identity problem. Last year was the first year that the race put separate caps on the half and full marathons. The caps were at 11,000 each. Sounds reasonable so far, right? The bonehead factor with that was that they allowed transfers between events even after the cap was met for one of the races. So what happened last year, people wanting to run the half marathon after the half reached its cap of 11,000 simply signed up for the full and then paid the $10 administrative fee to switch from the full to the half. Every other race that I've seen with separate race caps do not allow transfers once an event has reached its capacity. I somewhat thought this was merely an oversight by the race last year; however, with the same caps in place this year and the same transfers between events allowed, it seems clear that Houston doesn't really want to cap the half at 11,000. With that said, I don't know if they don't think the marathon would hit the 11,000 mark on its own. Otherwise, I don't see why they would just not allow switching between events, similiar to how they experimented with allowing race transfers between individuals but discontinued that process.
Another solution to Houston's filling so fast would be to eliminate the half marathon. That is kind of hard to do this year as the race is once again the mens and womens US Half Marathon championship. It would be difficult to have a 1/2 championship without an actual 1/2 event. Once again, there is an identity crisis.
I initially planned on running 2011 Houston 1/2 marathon as most of my running group participates in the event every year. When the lottery was announced, my initial thought was should I sign up for the full lottery and have better odds of getting accepted versus the half lottery which one would expect would have far more entrants. Upon further review, I think I'll just sit Houston out again this year. Thanks Houston for keeping things interesting!
From where I stand, it seems like the race has a real identity problem. Last year was the first year that the race put separate caps on the half and full marathons. The caps were at 11,000 each. Sounds reasonable so far, right? The bonehead factor with that was that they allowed transfers between events even after the cap was met for one of the races. So what happened last year, people wanting to run the half marathon after the half reached its cap of 11,000 simply signed up for the full and then paid the $10 administrative fee to switch from the full to the half. Every other race that I've seen with separate race caps do not allow transfers once an event has reached its capacity. I somewhat thought this was merely an oversight by the race last year; however, with the same caps in place this year and the same transfers between events allowed, it seems clear that Houston doesn't really want to cap the half at 11,000. With that said, I don't know if they don't think the marathon would hit the 11,000 mark on its own. Otherwise, I don't see why they would just not allow switching between events, similiar to how they experimented with allowing race transfers between individuals but discontinued that process.
Another solution to Houston's filling so fast would be to eliminate the half marathon. That is kind of hard to do this year as the race is once again the mens and womens US Half Marathon championship. It would be difficult to have a 1/2 championship without an actual 1/2 event. Once again, there is an identity crisis.
I initially planned on running 2011 Houston 1/2 marathon as most of my running group participates in the event every year. When the lottery was announced, my initial thought was should I sign up for the full lottery and have better odds of getting accepted versus the half lottery which one would expect would have far more entrants. Upon further review, I think I'll just sit Houston out again this year. Thanks Houston for keeping things interesting!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Medicine Bow Half Marathon
I had about 10 weeks to train for Medicine Bow after running back to back half marathons in DC and Wilmington in mid March. My plan was to follow a 6 week training plan that was published in an earlier Runners World magazine article. That never happened. I did train and did most of my longer runs on trails and hills at Huntsville State Park, I never got overly excited about training for this race. I think alot of it had to do with the fact that I knew that it is nearly impossible to simulate high altitude conditions when you train at sea level. Its also difficult to find hills that seem to go on forever. There are plenty of difficult grade hills in the area but nothing that goes on as long as some of these hilly away races.
Air travel to Denver and the car drive to Cheyenne went smoothly. After checking in at the host hotel/expo/pasta dinner location, we made a 25 mile westerly drive to the start of the course at the Lincoln Monument exit between Laramie and Cheyenne. They had a sign at the exit indicating that this was the highest point on I-80 in Wyoming at just under 8700 feet. There was still snow on the ground in areas. We drove the entire course, something that I rarely do before a race. I learned that drving and running a course is a totally different experience.
We headed out before 5 race morning for the same rest area for a 6am race start. This is one of the local laid back races that I am starting to enjoy more and more. There was a flour line marking the start; no chips or timing mats to be found on this course. The course was an out and back and there was one aid station to serve you in both directions. I was initially concerned about having to navigate 2 cattle guards twice on the course; this turned out to not be an issue because I was walking by the time I approached the first cattle guard.
The course had a 4-5 mile downhill start going from 8700 feet down to 8100 feet before climbing back up to 8500 feet at the turnaround point. I knew within the first 2 miles that it was going to be a long day. Just running with the flow at the start, I was at about an 8:15 pace and my legs felt fine since I was going downhill but I definetely noticed that I was breathing harder than I should have been. Once the uphill started, I pretty much started walking. I mixed in some running but did more walking than running on the uphill portions of the course. There were very few flat areas on the course; you were either running downhill or uphill.
I think I finished this race the driest that I've been at any race. With a chilly 29 degree start and a 20 mph or so wind and dry conditions (and all the walking) my dri fit clothes actually wicked moisture as advertised.
Wyoming was my 42nd state that I've run a 1/2 or full marathon in. It was also my 50th half marathon that I've run. It was also a PW for me but a Wyoming PR for me!!!!!!!
Air travel to Denver and the car drive to Cheyenne went smoothly. After checking in at the host hotel/expo/pasta dinner location, we made a 25 mile westerly drive to the start of the course at the Lincoln Monument exit between Laramie and Cheyenne. They had a sign at the exit indicating that this was the highest point on I-80 in Wyoming at just under 8700 feet. There was still snow on the ground in areas. We drove the entire course, something that I rarely do before a race. I learned that drving and running a course is a totally different experience.
We headed out before 5 race morning for the same rest area for a 6am race start. This is one of the local laid back races that I am starting to enjoy more and more. There was a flour line marking the start; no chips or timing mats to be found on this course. The course was an out and back and there was one aid station to serve you in both directions. I was initially concerned about having to navigate 2 cattle guards twice on the course; this turned out to not be an issue because I was walking by the time I approached the first cattle guard.
The course had a 4-5 mile downhill start going from 8700 feet down to 8100 feet before climbing back up to 8500 feet at the turnaround point. I knew within the first 2 miles that it was going to be a long day. Just running with the flow at the start, I was at about an 8:15 pace and my legs felt fine since I was going downhill but I definetely noticed that I was breathing harder than I should have been. Once the uphill started, I pretty much started walking. I mixed in some running but did more walking than running on the uphill portions of the course. There were very few flat areas on the course; you were either running downhill or uphill.
I think I finished this race the driest that I've been at any race. With a chilly 29 degree start and a 20 mph or so wind and dry conditions (and all the walking) my dri fit clothes actually wicked moisture as advertised.
Wyoming was my 42nd state that I've run a 1/2 or full marathon in. It was also my 50th half marathon that I've run. It was also a PW for me but a Wyoming PR for me!!!!!!!
Bolder Boulder 10K
After having fewer than 300 participants run the Wyoming races Sunday, Memorial Day Monday had runners everywhere as over 50,000 people participated in the second largest 10K in the United States. The weather was much nicer than the largest 10K has July 4th weekend in Hotlanta I'd imagine.
We headed out early for the parking garage near the finish line. There was no absolutely no traffic driving to the finish area; the garage was almost empty as well. After hanging out in the car for awhile, we decided to find the Boulder bus that would take us to the start line. We probably walked at least 1/2 as far to get to the shuttle versus just walking to the start line. Walking directly definetely would have been quicker as the bus ride took awhile with traffic. No worries though as we were at the start with plenty of time to spare.
I'm not sure exactly how many corral starts Boulder had, but there were more than I'd ever seen for a race. They started within a minute of each other and that seemed to work fine in keeping the course moving. It was crowded the entire race but never clogged. I can definetely say that my own breathing limitations and not the course crowd is what slowed me down.
Another interesting thing about the Boulder course was the fact that both mile and kilometer markers were on the course. It got rather confusing as to where you were on the course as the mile/K number was visible before the mile/km designation. There were also timing mats at every mile marker.
We didn't stay for the Memorial Day tribute at 11:40 as we had an afternoon flight back to Houston and didn't want to get caught in post event traffic.
All in all, Bolder Boulder 10k was a fun race in a nice town.
We headed out early for the parking garage near the finish line. There was no absolutely no traffic driving to the finish area; the garage was almost empty as well. After hanging out in the car for awhile, we decided to find the Boulder bus that would take us to the start line. We probably walked at least 1/2 as far to get to the shuttle versus just walking to the start line. Walking directly definetely would have been quicker as the bus ride took awhile with traffic. No worries though as we were at the start with plenty of time to spare.
I'm not sure exactly how many corral starts Boulder had, but there were more than I'd ever seen for a race. They started within a minute of each other and that seemed to work fine in keeping the course moving. It was crowded the entire race but never clogged. I can definetely say that my own breathing limitations and not the course crowd is what slowed me down.
Another interesting thing about the Boulder course was the fact that both mile and kilometer markers were on the course. It got rather confusing as to where you were on the course as the mile/K number was visible before the mile/km designation. There were also timing mats at every mile marker.
We didn't stay for the Memorial Day tribute at 11:40 as we had an afternoon flight back to Houston and didn't want to get caught in post event traffic.
All in all, Bolder Boulder 10k was a fun race in a nice town.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
El Chupacabra de Houston Nighttime 10k Trail Run
I somehow let a month go by without a running update. Not much to report on the running front these days; I'm enjoying being injury free and am running a somewhat light 15-20 miles a week average these days. I ran my longest run since March on the trails at Huntsville State Park last Sunday.... a tough 10 miles in humid conditions with horseflies chasing most of the way. Horseflies can be persuasive motivation to continue moving forward.
Last night was a first for me. I ran a nighttime 10k trail run at Lake Houston Park in New Caney (TX). Now I've run a night race, a 10k and trail races before but never all three disciplines in the same event. I thought the race was well organized, especially being the first year for this event in the Houston area. The race organizers have had a similiar event near San Antonio the past couple of years.
I ran the first 5k of the race somewhat harder than I planned on running. My first mile was slower than I wanted due to the narrow trail and slower runners ahead of me. It wasn't worth the effort to pass people on this portion of the trail so I waited/conserved energy so that I could make my move when the trail opened up. My second mile was much faster given better running conditions and the fact that I could pass runners. When I hit the lap button at mile 2, I thought my average pace was 9:58. I picked up the pace even though in my mind I felt like I was running faster than a 10 minute pace. Turns out I was; at mile 3 I realized that I was at an 8:58 pace.... running without glasses at night makes 8's and 9's look identical.
I stopped at the halfway point and refilled my hand held water bottle (practicing for next week's 1/2 in Wyoming where you have to carry your own bottle). From that point to the finish I did a good mix of running and walking averaging around a 10 minute pace for the last 3 miles. My unofficial time was 1:01:01 per my Garmin. Definetely not my fastest 10k; actually pretty comparable to my 6 mile barathon times back in New Orleans. Different obstacles but just a much fun.
The post race party was excellent for the event. They had bar b que and lots of beer. I do believe this will become an annual event for me.
Next up is my continued economical travel. I run my 42nd state a week from today in Wyoming followed by my first Boulder Bolder 10k race in Colorado. It will be interesting to see if altitude in Boulder or darkness, humidity and trails is the tougher challenge.
Last night was a first for me. I ran a nighttime 10k trail run at Lake Houston Park in New Caney (TX). Now I've run a night race, a 10k and trail races before but never all three disciplines in the same event. I thought the race was well organized, especially being the first year for this event in the Houston area. The race organizers have had a similiar event near San Antonio the past couple of years.
I ran the first 5k of the race somewhat harder than I planned on running. My first mile was slower than I wanted due to the narrow trail and slower runners ahead of me. It wasn't worth the effort to pass people on this portion of the trail so I waited/conserved energy so that I could make my move when the trail opened up. My second mile was much faster given better running conditions and the fact that I could pass runners. When I hit the lap button at mile 2, I thought my average pace was 9:58. I picked up the pace even though in my mind I felt like I was running faster than a 10 minute pace. Turns out I was; at mile 3 I realized that I was at an 8:58 pace.... running without glasses at night makes 8's and 9's look identical.
I stopped at the halfway point and refilled my hand held water bottle (practicing for next week's 1/2 in Wyoming where you have to carry your own bottle). From that point to the finish I did a good mix of running and walking averaging around a 10 minute pace for the last 3 miles. My unofficial time was 1:01:01 per my Garmin. Definetely not my fastest 10k; actually pretty comparable to my 6 mile barathon times back in New Orleans. Different obstacles but just a much fun.
The post race party was excellent for the event. They had bar b que and lots of beer. I do believe this will become an annual event for me.
Next up is my continued economical travel. I run my 42nd state a week from today in Wyoming followed by my first Boulder Bolder 10k race in Colorado. It will be interesting to see if altitude in Boulder or darkness, humidity and trails is the tougher challenge.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Rocky Mountain.... How High????
With a little over 5 weeks to go before my next half marathon, I decided to look up the elevation that I'll be dealing with for both the 1/2 in Wyoming Sunday and the 10k in Boulder the following day. (I was asked the day before as to the elevation and had a deer in the headlights look so figured I needed to educate myself.)
First the good news (well relatively good news).... Bolder Boulder has a max elevatin of 5391 and a min elevation of 5284. The Woodlands has an elevation of 160 so I'll be right around 5000 feet higher than I'm used to running. That really shouldn't be a problem as I'll be running at 8700 feet in Wyoming the day before. The trail 1/2 between Laramie and Cheyenne starts at 8700 feet with a nice descent to around 8100 feet before ascending back to around 8500 feet at the 1/2 turnaround. The last 5 miles should be pretty much all uphill gaining back the 600 feet descent that we got to enjoy the first 1/2 of the course.
8700 feet will be the highest elevation that I've run in to date. I started the Georgetown to Idaho Springs 1/2 just west of Denver back in 2007 at 8500 feet. That course had a 1000 foot descent to a finish in Idaho Springs. That race didn't go so well for me as I pulled a hamstring around mile 4. The other western event that comes to mind is the Race to Robie Creek 1/2 that I ran in 2007 as well in Idaho. That 1/2 started at an elevation of 2725, climbed to 4797 and then dropped to 3065 at the finish. Thats the only race where I had a nose bleed along the course. Yet another Rocky Mountain disaster.
So maybe I was better off with the deer in the headlights look when asked about the altitude I'll be facing at the end of next month. My goal is to finish around 2:10. This will keep Georgetown and Robie as my 2nd to last and PW times respectively. Of course that goal will be secondary to enjoying myself on the course and logging my 42nd state.
First the good news (well relatively good news).... Bolder Boulder has a max elevatin of 5391 and a min elevation of 5284. The Woodlands has an elevation of 160 so I'll be right around 5000 feet higher than I'm used to running. That really shouldn't be a problem as I'll be running at 8700 feet in Wyoming the day before. The trail 1/2 between Laramie and Cheyenne starts at 8700 feet with a nice descent to around 8100 feet before ascending back to around 8500 feet at the 1/2 turnaround. The last 5 miles should be pretty much all uphill gaining back the 600 feet descent that we got to enjoy the first 1/2 of the course.
8700 feet will be the highest elevation that I've run in to date. I started the Georgetown to Idaho Springs 1/2 just west of Denver back in 2007 at 8500 feet. That course had a 1000 foot descent to a finish in Idaho Springs. That race didn't go so well for me as I pulled a hamstring around mile 4. The other western event that comes to mind is the Race to Robie Creek 1/2 that I ran in 2007 as well in Idaho. That 1/2 started at an elevation of 2725, climbed to 4797 and then dropped to 3065 at the finish. Thats the only race where I had a nose bleed along the course. Yet another Rocky Mountain disaster.
So maybe I was better off with the deer in the headlights look when asked about the altitude I'll be facing at the end of next month. My goal is to finish around 2:10. This will keep Georgetown and Robie as my 2nd to last and PW times respectively. Of course that goal will be secondary to enjoying myself on the course and logging my 42nd state.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Buckeye Upgrade
I was able to remember my login information and get back into the new and improved Buckeye Outdoors website. Its been about a year since I started using Buckeye as my training log for all my runs. I also went back and entered all my prior marathon and 1/2 marathon races in the Buckeye calendar.
Buckeye now uses garmin connect so that I can now download my run information directly from my Garmin into the Buckeye training log. The prior version required a download from Garmin to SportTracks (Zone 5 software) and then upload to Buckeye.
Syncing with Facebook and Twitter is now easier as well. This seems to be the case where new & improved is actually an improvement!
Buckeye now uses garmin connect so that I can now download my run information directly from my Garmin into the Buckeye training log. The prior version required a download from Garmin to SportTracks (Zone 5 software) and then upload to Buckeye.
Syncing with Facebook and Twitter is now easier as well. This seems to be the case where new & improved is actually an improvement!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Buckeye Upgrades
I guess the Buckeye Outdoor upgrade happened late on April 2nd as advertised on their website. None of my Buckeye sidebar boxes are presently visible on my blog; no PR's, no completed races, no upcoming races, no workouts. Hopefully there is a quick fix to get the information back. I've become spoiled with the no data entry required log maintenance that I've been able to do with Buckeye the past year or so.
Friday, March 26, 2010
6 Week Half Marathon Training Plan
My April 2010 copy of Runner's World arrived before my back to back 1/2 marathons trip last week. I read most of it on the 3 hour flight to Baltimore. One of the more interesting articles was on a 6 week training plan for 5k, 10k and half marathon distances. One of the last things I read was proven true by me in both of my 1/2 events last weekend: "You can suck it up and finish a 5-K or 10-K on minimal mileage but you can't get away with that when you're running a half-marathon." Truer words have never been spoken!
I do plan on putting the 6 week 1/2 plan to good use for my upcoming Medicine Bow 1/2 marathon run at the end of May. I plan on taking the next few weeks building a decent running base and then will follow the RW 6 week program to prepare for the 1/2. Of course, there is no mention of running a 10-K the next day in the article because we all know serious runners wouldn't do that, right? Oh well....
I do plan on putting the 6 week 1/2 plan to good use for my upcoming Medicine Bow 1/2 marathon run at the end of May. I plan on taking the next few weeks building a decent running base and then will follow the RW 6 week program to prepare for the 1/2. Of course, there is no mention of running a 10-K the next day in the article because we all know serious runners wouldn't do that, right? Oh well....
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
How Much is Too Much?
I just came across the following article on AOL Health regarding marathon running being linked to heart damage. At first, I thought it was justification for my decision to not run marathons anymore.....sticking to the 1/2 distance instead. However, reading the article, they refer to the 3 men that died in Detroit in October 2009. I believe these 3 men were all running the 1/2 marathon; I wish the article were more clear on exactly how much training is considered too much. This is a new study and much more research is required.
My body has recovered quite well from the weekend. I got in a quick 3 mile Flintridge hill run Monday evening and hope to get out for a run before the rain around lunchtime today. It's nice to be able to train again!
My body has recovered quite well from the weekend. I got in a quick 3 mile Flintridge hill run Monday evening and hope to get out for a run before the rain around lunchtime today. It's nice to be able to train again!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
National Half and Caesar Rodney Half Marathons
I ran my 41st state plus DC this past weekend. I added an extra day to what I would usually spend in order to take in some of Washington DC's monuments and memorials. It turned out to be a great weekend for running and just being out and about.
The SignUp: I can't recall exactly what focused my attention on running DC and DE last fall but I registered for both events mid November. The National Half (and marathon) has tiers of early bird discounts; I got in somewhere in the mid level.
The SetUp: Following the Disney Marathon (Goofy Challenge), I had 10 weeks to train for these back to back events. After running 39.3 miles in a weekend, I took it easy the first couple of weeks following Goofy. On my 7th post Goofy run, I went out for a short 5-6 mile run from work during the day towards the end of January. I started the run feeling fine but noticed a tightness near my hip about 2 miles into the run. By the time I finished the run, walking was even painful. I got in to see Dr Eric the same day and was diagnosed with a TFL pull. I really thought I would be able to shake the injury off within a week. A week turned into 6 weeks. End of January injury 6 weeks later put me feeling fine heading into these races but with little to no training. My total miles run in the 10 weeks was 65 over 16 runs. That's an average of 4 miles per run. My longest run in that time period was the Rodeo Run 10k race at the end of February. I was able to run that event fairly comfortably. My TFL tightened up after the race and i wasn't able to run for a few days after. A week later, running 3 legs in the Texas Independence Relay boosted my confidence that I would be able to complete the 2 1/2's. During the TIR, I was able to remain loose between running.
The week before the race, I decided that I would try to run both races at a 9:10 pace as that would put me at the 2 hour even mark. I really had nothing to base that goal on as I had no idea what to expect with so little training. Turns out I can run a 10k without training; after that, my races fell apart. If I had started out slower, I probably would've had a better overall race experience but I was for the most part pleased with my performances both days.
The National Half:
The start time for the race was 7:00; the metro started running at 5:00 Saturday morning in order to accomodate the runners. I stayed at the host hotel; the Renaissance M Street hotel was located north of the orange/blue metro line Foggy Bottom/GWU stop. I was 11 stops from the RFK Stadium/Armory station, the start and finish for the race. Having the start and finish right near the metro station made it really convenient. After checking my bag, I lined up around an 8 minute mile pace mark. Actually that is the corral that I was assigned when I registered for the race. I should've lined up farther back beyond the 9 minute mile pace mark. My mile splits were:
1 9:18
2 8:43
3 8:24
4 8:41
5 9:02
6-7 20:09
8 9:52
9 10:34
10 9:17
11 11:14
12 11:55
13.1 10:57
I remember thinking around miles 11 and 12 that I needed to take it easy because I had to do the same thing again in about 24 hours. Total time: 2:08:06.
Caesar Rodney Half:
After checking out of my DC hotel, I caught the metro to end of the green line and caught a bus to get back to BWI airport in order for me to pickup my rental car. The drive to Wilmington was easy with no traffic problems. $9 in road tolls and I was in downtown Wilmington at the CR host hotel. Packet pickup ended around 2:00 Saturday; I didn't arrive in Wilmington until around 5:00 so I picked my packet up race morning. The start and finish for the race was about 2 blocks away from the hotel; a very easy walk. There were no minute per mile pace markers to line up for this race; I played it smart and lined up further back than I normally would have lined up. This strategy proved helpful in keeping me from going out as fast as I had the day before. My mile splits were:
1 9:14
2 9:42
3 8:52
4-5 18:31
6 9:04
7 9:26
8 10:44
9 9:56
10 9:22
11 9:26
12 9:39
13.1 10:47
Sunday's race was much more evenly paced compared to Saturday's quick start and slow finish. My total time Sunday was 2:04:38.
Hocus Focus: Can you identify the difference in the 2 US maps below? I ran 26.2 miles for this?
The SignUp: I can't recall exactly what focused my attention on running DC and DE last fall but I registered for both events mid November. The National Half (and marathon) has tiers of early bird discounts; I got in somewhere in the mid level.
The SetUp: Following the Disney Marathon (Goofy Challenge), I had 10 weeks to train for these back to back events. After running 39.3 miles in a weekend, I took it easy the first couple of weeks following Goofy. On my 7th post Goofy run, I went out for a short 5-6 mile run from work during the day towards the end of January. I started the run feeling fine but noticed a tightness near my hip about 2 miles into the run. By the time I finished the run, walking was even painful. I got in to see Dr Eric the same day and was diagnosed with a TFL pull. I really thought I would be able to shake the injury off within a week. A week turned into 6 weeks. End of January injury 6 weeks later put me feeling fine heading into these races but with little to no training. My total miles run in the 10 weeks was 65 over 16 runs. That's an average of 4 miles per run. My longest run in that time period was the Rodeo Run 10k race at the end of February. I was able to run that event fairly comfortably. My TFL tightened up after the race and i wasn't able to run for a few days after. A week later, running 3 legs in the Texas Independence Relay boosted my confidence that I would be able to complete the 2 1/2's. During the TIR, I was able to remain loose between running.
The week before the race, I decided that I would try to run both races at a 9:10 pace as that would put me at the 2 hour even mark. I really had nothing to base that goal on as I had no idea what to expect with so little training. Turns out I can run a 10k without training; after that, my races fell apart. If I had started out slower, I probably would've had a better overall race experience but I was for the most part pleased with my performances both days.
The National Half:
The start time for the race was 7:00; the metro started running at 5:00 Saturday morning in order to accomodate the runners. I stayed at the host hotel; the Renaissance M Street hotel was located north of the orange/blue metro line Foggy Bottom/GWU stop. I was 11 stops from the RFK Stadium/Armory station, the start and finish for the race. Having the start and finish right near the metro station made it really convenient. After checking my bag, I lined up around an 8 minute mile pace mark. Actually that is the corral that I was assigned when I registered for the race. I should've lined up farther back beyond the 9 minute mile pace mark. My mile splits were:
1 9:18
2 8:43
3 8:24
4 8:41
5 9:02
6-7 20:09
8 9:52
9 10:34
10 9:17
11 11:14
12 11:55
13.1 10:57
I remember thinking around miles 11 and 12 that I needed to take it easy because I had to do the same thing again in about 24 hours. Total time: 2:08:06.
Caesar Rodney Half:
After checking out of my DC hotel, I caught the metro to end of the green line and caught a bus to get back to BWI airport in order for me to pickup my rental car. The drive to Wilmington was easy with no traffic problems. $9 in road tolls and I was in downtown Wilmington at the CR host hotel. Packet pickup ended around 2:00 Saturday; I didn't arrive in Wilmington until around 5:00 so I picked my packet up race morning. The start and finish for the race was about 2 blocks away from the hotel; a very easy walk. There were no minute per mile pace markers to line up for this race; I played it smart and lined up further back than I normally would have lined up. This strategy proved helpful in keeping me from going out as fast as I had the day before. My mile splits were:
1 9:14
2 9:42
3 8:52
4-5 18:31
6 9:04
7 9:26
8 10:44
9 9:56
10 9:22
11 9:26
12 9:39
13.1 10:47
Sunday's race was much more evenly paced compared to Saturday's quick start and slow finish. My total time Sunday was 2:04:38.
Hocus Focus: Can you identify the difference in the 2 US maps below? I ran 26.2 miles for this?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
2010 Texas Independence Relay
Team Thing 2 at San Jacinto Monument
I completed my 3rd Texas Independence Relay race this past weekend. My team of 12 combined with another 12 member team organized together opened up the race this year with a 6:00 AM start time in Gonzales, TX. 6:00 AM doesn't sound so bad; actually it was a little bit later start than my 2 Disney races that had 5 something AM starts. Only problem was the start line was some 2 1/2 hours away from where I live. I thought I had early mornings when I ran the Goofy Challenge as I was up at 3 AM each morning. I was up at 1 AM Saturday morning to get to a meeting area around 1:45 AM to drive on over to Gonzales.
TIR is definetely an endurance event. The running part of it is fun but the waiting to run time spent with fellow teammates is equally as fun. I was on my 3rd team in 3 years running. I didn't know any of my vanmates prior to running this year so it was great fun getting to know everyone over the 35 hour period that we ran together.
I'm not sure what next year holds for me in TIR. I ran 5 legs in 2008 for the inaugural TIR, 4 legs last year and 3 legs this year. With 40 legs and a maximum of 12 member per team, I can't run fewer than 3 legs. I ran fewer legs this year but had to take a day off work this year to recover; guess my age is starting to show! I slept a good part of the day yesterday and was probably still down on sleep time for the 3 day period Saturday-Monday.
The best news out of the weekend is that my TFL, while definetely not 100%, didn't get too tight on me after my first leg. I was able to complete my 2nd and 3rd legs around a 9:30 pace. Now I just need to rest more and I think I'll be fine to run my back to back 1/2's the 20th and 21st. I may just stick to the Beth Whitehead method of skipping all training runs and running events only.
Monday, March 1, 2010
An Unusual February
Thankfully February has come to an end. My TFL muscle was out of commission the entire month; there was noticeable improvement towards the end of the month but running is still not happening like it should.
It is frustrating as February has historically been one of the more productive running months for me. I've run 9 of the 46 half marathons that I've run to date in February. My PRs at the 5k, 10k, and 1/2 marathon were also run in February.
To have logged only 4 runs for a total of less than 20 miles for the month is just not what I'm used to doing. The good news is that the TFL does feel much better, although a co-worker made the comment that I was limping this morning. Maybe I'm just getting used to the pain?????
Here's February results in Buckeye Outdoor Report format:
Running Summary
Runs: 4
Avg. Time: 00:41:30
Total Time: 02:46:02
Avg. Speed: 6.6 MPH
Avg. Mi Pace: 9:06
Avg. Dist.: 4.6 Mi
Total Dist.: 18.2 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 575.7
Total Cal. Burned: 1727
It is frustrating as February has historically been one of the more productive running months for me. I've run 9 of the 46 half marathons that I've run to date in February. My PRs at the 5k, 10k, and 1/2 marathon were also run in February.
To have logged only 4 runs for a total of less than 20 miles for the month is just not what I'm used to doing. The good news is that the TFL does feel much better, although a co-worker made the comment that I was limping this morning. Maybe I'm just getting used to the pain?????
Here's February results in Buckeye Outdoor Report format:
Running Summary
Runs: 4
Avg. Time: 00:41:30
Total Time: 02:46:02
Avg. Speed: 6.6 MPH
Avg. Mi Pace: 9:06
Avg. Dist.: 4.6 Mi
Total Dist.: 18.2 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 575.7
Total Cal. Burned: 1727
Sunday, February 28, 2010
2010 ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run 10k
This was my 2nd year running the Rodeo Run 10k. I ran it last year setting a 45+ minute PR. It was the first time that I hit the "Crescent City Classic Free Poster" magic number. Back when I was living in New Orleans, the CCC gave out free race posters to the first race finishers. The cutoff for the free posters was usually around the 45 minute mark. I never came close to that time in NOLA so I was really excited to run a 45 minute time last year.
Fast forward to 2010 and I entered this years race with my right TFL muscle still not fully healed. My running to date in February has been 3 runs all around the 4 mile mark, all with discomfort either during the run or right after the run. I normally try to run a repeat race faster than my prior performance. This year I was trying to run 55 minutes. Race day saw lows in the 40s with the sun out. I ran 52 minutes this year and was very pleased. My TFL did not bother me at all during the race. It is somewhat tight now but not nearly as painful as it has been.
The Rodeo Run has become my favorite race. It occurs in a great time of year here in Houston. You get a built in audience for part of the course as you run on a portion of the Rodeo Parade. People lined up early for the parade are there to provide support. This years race raised $310,000 for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Educational Fund.
Fast forward to 2010 and I entered this years race with my right TFL muscle still not fully healed. My running to date in February has been 3 runs all around the 4 mile mark, all with discomfort either during the run or right after the run. I normally try to run a repeat race faster than my prior performance. This year I was trying to run 55 minutes. Race day saw lows in the 40s with the sun out. I ran 52 minutes this year and was very pleased. My TFL did not bother me at all during the race. It is somewhat tight now but not nearly as painful as it has been.
The Rodeo Run has become my favorite race. It occurs in a great time of year here in Houston. You get a built in audience for part of the course as you run on a portion of the Rodeo Parade. People lined up early for the parade are there to provide support. This years race raised $310,000 for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ Educational Fund.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Airport Worker's Shadow Equals Six More Weeks of Winter?
This could be the rental car at BWI airport that I'll be renting 4 weeks from Saturday to get me to my 2nd 1/2 marathon of the weekend in Wilmington, DE. Things should be thawed out by then. Right?
If my TFL muscle doesn't get better and fast, I'll have bigger problems than a frozen rental car. I ran pain free yesterday but the muscle got tight after I finished my run. I iced it right after running and slept with a heating pad on it last night.
Monday, February 8, 2010
What a Difference a Month Makes!
The frozen tundra that was WDW last month looks pretty pleasant today!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Hurry Up TFL
I attempted my first run last night after pulling my Tensor Faciae Latae muscle (right side) a week earlier on a 5 mile lunchtime run. The muscle seemed to be loosening up nicely throughout the week and by Wednesday I was feeling pretty good walking and moving around in general. My first mistake last night was that I forgot to tape the muscle with kinesio tape before running. I noticed pain a few steps into the run; it was by no means a 10 on a 1-10 pain scale but it remained a solid 6 throughout the almost 4 mile run. I think more time off is needed in order to speed recovery. Listen to thy body....
In the meantime, I bought my first video game console since Mattel electronics Intellivision unit in the late 70s. I'll try and keep occupied with Wii sports while my leg heals.
In the meantime, I bought my first video game console since Mattel electronics Intellivision unit in the late 70s. I'll try and keep occupied with Wii sports while my leg heals.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
January is in the Books
January Running Summary :
Runs: 11
Avg. Time: 01:09:06
Total Time: 12:40:08
Avg. Speed: 6.2 MPH
Avg. Mi Pace: 9:40
Avg. Dist.: 7.1 Mi
Total Dist.: 78.6 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 627.6
Total Cal. Burned: 5648
Interesting totals for January; my total miles are split evenly between 39.3 race miles and 39.3 training miles. I limped out of January with a pulled TFL muscle on my Thursday lunch run. A visit to Dr Eric that same afternoon has me well on the way to being recovered.
I also had my first DNS race of the year. I did the wise thing listening to my body yesterday morning and not attempting to run or walk the Bill Crews Remission Run 5k with my leg not well. Here's to a healthy February!!!!
Runs: 11
Avg. Time: 01:09:06
Total Time: 12:40:08
Avg. Speed: 6.2 MPH
Avg. Mi Pace: 9:40
Avg. Dist.: 7.1 Mi
Total Dist.: 78.6 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 627.6
Total Cal. Burned: 5648
Interesting totals for January; my total miles are split evenly between 39.3 race miles and 39.3 training miles. I limped out of January with a pulled TFL muscle on my Thursday lunch run. A visit to Dr Eric that same afternoon has me well on the way to being recovered.
I also had my first DNS race of the year. I did the wise thing listening to my body yesterday morning and not attempting to run or walk the Bill Crews Remission Run 5k with my leg not well. Here's to a healthy February!!!!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Black & Gold Alert
I just received the following email from one of my NOLA friends. I didn't realize that the Super Bowl will be on the first weekend of Mardi Gras parades in the NOLA area.
New Orleans has exploded into a chaotic revelry unlike anything the city has ever seen before. Add in the fact that we'll be in the midst of Mardi Gras during the game and it's almost scary to think what could go down here on February 7, 2010 when the Saints are in Miami.
Here are some things we might see:
1. Alcohol shortages: All groceries, convenience stores and drug stores within a 100 mile radius of New Orleans will completely sell out of beer, wine and liquor. You should stock up at least a week in advance, otherwise you'll be stuck with soda and water.
2. Extreme noise: The sounds of 1.13 million cheering fans in metro New Orleans will reach more than 500 decibels. Hundreds of thousands of stomping feet will create shockwaves and tremors as far away as Houston and Atlanta .
3. Regional smoke screen and CO2 emissions: Smoke from barbecue pits, fireworks and bonfires will create a 250-mile long cloud in the sky that will be seen from satellites and on Google Earth. Tens of thousands of residents will boil seafood in their backyards and CO2 emissions from the burning propane tanks will create a hole in the ozone above New Orleans .
4. Total gridlock: The crowds of people trying to get to the French Quarter will back up traffic all the way to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. If you're driving in from the east, you'll likely have to park somewhere on Judge Perez in Chalmette and walk the rest of the way. The line to get into Pat O'Brien's will end somewhere in the Marigny and the spillover from Bourbon Street will run all the way to Decatur.
5. The city will use parking tickets to fund Nagin's world travels: The City of New Orleans Parking Enforcement will mark the day on the calendar and send out busloads of meter maids to issue thousands of tickets to those having a good time downtown. They'll use the proceeds to send Mayor Nagin on a luxury 13-day cruise down the Nile followed by a jaunt into space with Richard Branson.
6. New Orleans will put out 3 more port-o-lets: In response to the massive crowds, the city will put 3 more port-o-lets for a grand total of 12. This will increase ratio of toilets-to-people to an impressive 1 toilet per 24,000 visitors. The wait time to pee in the French Quarter will drop from five hours to only three.
7. Who Dat migration: Thousands of vehicles, mostly Chevy Silverados with fleur de lis stickers in the back windows, will make the trip down I-10 then head south on I-75 and I-95 to Miami . "Who Dat!" will be heard at dozens of gas stations along the way, which will also subsequently sell out of Bud Light. Much of the 862 miles of interstate between New Orleans and Miami will be littered with beer cans and chicken bones.
8. Thousands of televisions will need to be replaced: Country folk Who Dats on the north shore and in wooded areas surrounding New Orleans will shoot out their televisions in excitement.
BLACK AND GOLD IN THE SUPERBOWL, BABY!!!!!!
New Orleans has exploded into a chaotic revelry unlike anything the city has ever seen before. Add in the fact that we'll be in the midst of Mardi Gras during the game and it's almost scary to think what could go down here on February 7, 2010 when the Saints are in Miami.
Here are some things we might see:
1. Alcohol shortages: All groceries, convenience stores and drug stores within a 100 mile radius of New Orleans will completely sell out of beer, wine and liquor. You should stock up at least a week in advance, otherwise you'll be stuck with soda and water.
2. Extreme noise: The sounds of 1.13 million cheering fans in metro New Orleans will reach more than 500 decibels. Hundreds of thousands of stomping feet will create shockwaves and tremors as far away as Houston and Atlanta .
3. Regional smoke screen and CO2 emissions: Smoke from barbecue pits, fireworks and bonfires will create a 250-mile long cloud in the sky that will be seen from satellites and on Google Earth. Tens of thousands of residents will boil seafood in their backyards and CO2 emissions from the burning propane tanks will create a hole in the ozone above New Orleans .
4. Total gridlock: The crowds of people trying to get to the French Quarter will back up traffic all the way to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. If you're driving in from the east, you'll likely have to park somewhere on Judge Perez in Chalmette and walk the rest of the way. The line to get into Pat O'Brien's will end somewhere in the Marigny and the spillover from Bourbon Street will run all the way to Decatur.
5. The city will use parking tickets to fund Nagin's world travels: The City of New Orleans Parking Enforcement will mark the day on the calendar and send out busloads of meter maids to issue thousands of tickets to those having a good time downtown. They'll use the proceeds to send Mayor Nagin on a luxury 13-day cruise down the Nile followed by a jaunt into space with Richard Branson.
6. New Orleans will put out 3 more port-o-lets: In response to the massive crowds, the city will put 3 more port-o-lets for a grand total of 12. This will increase ratio of toilets-to-people to an impressive 1 toilet per 24,000 visitors. The wait time to pee in the French Quarter will drop from five hours to only three.
7. Who Dat migration: Thousands of vehicles, mostly Chevy Silverados with fleur de lis stickers in the back windows, will make the trip down I-10 then head south on I-75 and I-95 to Miami . "Who Dat!" will be heard at dozens of gas stations along the way, which will also subsequently sell out of Bud Light. Much of the 862 miles of interstate between New Orleans and Miami will be littered with beer cans and chicken bones.
8. Thousands of televisions will need to be replaced: Country folk Who Dats on the north shore and in wooded areas surrounding New Orleans will shoot out their televisions in excitement.
BLACK AND GOLD IN THE SUPERBOWL, BABY!!!!!!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
My Resolve for 2010
As I missed out on making any New Years Resolutions this year (by this time in years past my resolutions were pretty much toast) I came across a simple line that will fuel my training for this year and maybe years to come:
The person I have to beat is the guy I was last week.
Simple yet challenging. If applied properly, I should see slow and steady improvement from week to week. We'll see how it goes. That means I need to eat fewer chips and salsa at Rico's tonight than I ate at Rico's last week for starters. Sounds simple enough.
The person I have to beat is the guy I was last week.
Simple yet challenging. If applied properly, I should see slow and steady improvement from week to week. We'll see how it goes. That means I need to eat fewer chips and salsa at Rico's tonight than I ate at Rico's last week for starters. Sounds simple enough.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2010 Walt Disney World Marathon Character Pictures
The pony express arrived with my disposable camera pics from the 2010 Disney Marathon today. All 22 pics came out.....pretty awesome!!!!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Houston Marathon Baggage Claim
I was asleep before 8 last night; my alarm woke me at 4 this morning so I could make it to the convention center in downtown Houston for my 5:30-11:30 baggage claim shift. This was only my 2nd baggage claim shift. This was much larger than the 5k event that I worked at DisneyWorld back in January 2008. There was a steady stream of runners checking bags from the very start at 5:30 until around 6:15. After that time, we got completely mobbed by tons of bags being checked. There were just piles of bags everywhere. Bags were all sorted by the time the lead marathoner finished.
Most runners were very polite and thanked us for being there. Unfortunately, with thousands of bags being checked, a few bag tags were separated from the bags and some bags were filed in the wrong numerical location. One runner got really upset when we couldn't locate his bag and directed him to the lost and found section. Dude, don't check a bag if its that important to you. Heck, even the airlines lose a bag every once inawhile.... and you pay them to lose your bag.
I have no plans for any 2011 Disney races so should be back to running the Houston 1/2 next year.
Most runners were very polite and thanked us for being there. Unfortunately, with thousands of bags being checked, a few bag tags were separated from the bags and some bags were filed in the wrong numerical location. One runner got really upset when we couldn't locate his bag and directed him to the lost and found section. Dude, don't check a bag if its that important to you. Heck, even the airlines lose a bag every once inawhile.... and you pay them to lose your bag.
I have no plans for any 2011 Disney races so should be back to running the Houston 1/2 next year.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge
It's hard to believe that its been almost a week now since I ran my longest combined weekend race miles ever. All soreness is now gone as are the arctic like temperatures that were in Orlando both race days.
My race training was not the best that I've had, well it was more like the worst marathon training that I've followed since my first marathon. With that said, I went into both races not trying to set a personal best but rather to have fun, cope with the weather conditions, and complete both events.
For the 1/2 marathon on Saturday, I wanted to run either a 1:51 or 1:54 time or anything under 2 hours but nothing faster than an 8:30 pace in order to keep me able to complete Sunday's marathon. Based on the email alerts I received from 4 points on the course, my pace was as even a pace as I can run. Here are the splits that I received:
5k 27:03 Predicted 1:54:07
10k 53:55 Predicted 1:53:44
15k 1:20:54 Predicted 1:53:47
Finish 1:54:22 net time 8:43 pace
Earlier in the week, I looked up the pace times that I needed in order to finish at 1:51 or 1:54 so I had a 8:30 or 8:45 pace in my mind during the race. As my pace got down to an 8:33 I realized about the 1/2 way mark of the race that I was not taking into account the fact that I wasn't running the tangents on the course and therefore my times would be off. I just decided to keep things above 8:30 and see how the race went.
Running in 37 degree weather and rain in Madison, MS last month helped prepare me for Saturday's race. I didn't even realize that I was wet Saturday until the race was over. The rain mixed with sleet and snow that we got Saturday morning was never really heavy but there was enough to have me wet (along with my own sweat I'm sure).
I waffled quite a bit when deciding on what gear to pack for race day. When the weather forecast was still calling for lows in the 30s and potential rain, I was going to wear compression socks and 1/4 tights with a short sleeve technical shirt. When 20s were thrown into the mix, I opted for full length tights and a long sleeve technical shirt. A skull cap was part of the plan either way. Standing in line at the expo Friday morning with northerners, I decided to run Saturday's race sans tights and just running shorts. That worked out fine; I opted to include the tights for Sunday's longer run.
My post race recovery plan Saturday included me doing a load of laundry with all of the race gear that I wore in Saturday's race in order to weat the same gear Sunday. $5 in laundry costs beat the $30 plus that the airlines are charging for checked bags these days. I also wore an active pair of running shoes as travel/walking shoes this trip as packing 2 pairs of size 13 shoes would not have left much room for anything else in my carryon bag. That part of the plan worked out great as well as I had fresh shoes to run in Sunday.
While I had 2 specific goal times for Saturday's run, in the back of my mind I just wanted to finish Sunday's run faster than what I ran my first marathon in at Disney 10 years ago. Rounding up, I had a goal of finishing in under 5 hours. That goal was 1 1/2 hours slower than my Boston qualifying goal times that I had at Chicago and Houston for my last 2 marathons. Sunday morning started with temperatures in the 20s, a few degrees colder than Saturdays lows. However, while Saturday was rainy and overcast the entire morning, Sunday was clear and the sun helped warm the course post sunrise.
Kodak provided disposable cameras as part of our race goody bag this year. I didn't run with one for the 1/2 Saturday but did for the full. In fact, I stopped and took over 20 pictures along the course Sunday morning. Hopefully they all came out; I'll have them to post early next week. I managed to complete the marathon in 4:55..... 5 minutes to spare in my 5 hour goal. I also managed to avoid using any gel products during the marathon as they have been know to give my GI issues. I used some Clif shot blocks at the 1/2 way point of the race and also chomped on some frozen chocolate that was handed out at mile 23 of the race.
All in all it was a great race weekend. I had fun running 2 events even in weather conditions that were not quite ideal. Running Disney for my final marathon was a nice way to bookend my decade of running marathons with Disney as my first in 2000 and my last in 2010. I look forward to getting back to training and knocking out more states with 1/2 marathons later this year.
Oh yeah, here are my marathon splits as well. You can see that most characters and therefore pic stops occurred after the 10 mile mark:
5 mile 49:23 Predicted 4:18:57
10 mile 1:36:29 Predicted 4:12:58
13.1 mile 2:14:49 Predicted 4:29:38
20 mile 3:34:20 Predicted 4:40:58
Finish 4:55:29 net time 11:16 pace
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Like Shooting Fish In A Barrel
Tapering madness has definetely set in. I'm now over the weather; have decided to run in tights and long sleeves and just deal with whatever we get Saturday and Sunday mornings. Hopefully there won't be any flight issues and I can make it to the ESPN Club at the Boardwalk for the BCS Championship game Thursday evening.
I just got a link to a website that makes doubling up on states on a weekend well ... like shooting fish in a barrel. What will they think of next? Actually running the events for ya?
I just got a link to a website that makes doubling up on states on a weekend well ... like shooting fish in a barrel. What will they think of next? Actually running the events for ya?
Monday, January 4, 2010
I'm So Over Winter
Enough with the cold weather already!!!!
This weather is just a year off for my training. Last year I would've loved this weather for race day. I had completed a fall of marathon training and was ready to attempt a BQ run and got nothing but heat in both Chicago and Houston. Fast forward a year where my training has sucked since mid October and I have nothing but cold weather around me. Not to mention that both Chicago and even moreso Houston were races where you could roll out of bed and be at the start line compared to Disney this weekend where I'll be outside both Saturday and Sunday mornings in the cold for a couple of hours before the races start. Can you say Brrrrrrr.....
Any ice bath required will be as easy as jumping into the hotel pool. No need for ice with freezing weather.
This weather is just a year off for my training. Last year I would've loved this weather for race day. I had completed a fall of marathon training and was ready to attempt a BQ run and got nothing but heat in both Chicago and Houston. Fast forward a year where my training has sucked since mid October and I have nothing but cold weather around me. Not to mention that both Chicago and even moreso Houston were races where you could roll out of bed and be at the start line compared to Disney this weekend where I'll be outside both Saturday and Sunday mornings in the cold for a couple of hours before the races start. Can you say Brrrrrrr.....
Any ice bath required will be as easy as jumping into the hotel pool. No need for ice with freezing weather.
Friday, January 1, 2010
The Decade in Review
Yesterday concluded my first long distance running decade. Prior to or shortly prior to the start of this decade, my longest run had been 6.2 miles or 10k.
My races completed this decade include 4 marathons, 2 25ks, 46 half marathons, 1 10 miler and 1 13k.
Prior to 2006, I have no idea how many miles I ran per year nor do I know how much mileage I put on my running shoes. My old shoe wear test was that if I got shin splints after a run, it was time for a new pair of shoes.
Going with the data I have, my 2006-2009 mileage is as follows:
2006 - 1146 miles
2007 - 1196 miles
2008 - 1298 miles
2009 - 1092 miles
2009 ended in a running slump for me. I'm not sure what the cause of this running funk is, but I am confident that I will work my way through it and get back running in 2010. Who knows, I may become a streaker this year!!!
My races completed this decade include 4 marathons, 2 25ks, 46 half marathons, 1 10 miler and 1 13k.
Prior to 2006, I have no idea how many miles I ran per year nor do I know how much mileage I put on my running shoes. My old shoe wear test was that if I got shin splints after a run, it was time for a new pair of shoes.
Going with the data I have, my 2006-2009 mileage is as follows:
2006 - 1146 miles
2007 - 1196 miles
2008 - 1298 miles
2009 - 1092 miles
2009 ended in a running slump for me. I'm not sure what the cause of this running funk is, but I am confident that I will work my way through it and get back running in 2010. Who knows, I may become a streaker this year!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
